Strong yen forces Nissan to halve Japan car exports by 2016

TOKYO (majirox news) — Nissan Motor Co. will drastically reduce Japanese production of cars for export due to the rapidly evaluation of the yen, the automaker said.

Japan’s third-largest automaker plans to cut exports to somewhere from 300,000 to 400,000 vehicles by the 2016 fiscal year, about half of the 680,000 vehicles it sent overseas during the 2010 fiscal year.

Nissan also plans to use parts from overseas manufacturers as part of its plans to strengthen resilience against a strong yen.

The car manufacturer plans to maintain annual domestic production of about 1 million vehicles and set up a profit structure less vulnerable to currency fluctuations.

Nissan currently loses about 20 billion yen ($260.18 million) in operating profits for every yen gained in value against the U.S. dollar.